GSM operator Idea Cellular has added the maximum of 1.21 million rural subscribers in May, overtaking Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India in user addition.
However, Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest operator by subscribers and revenues, continues to have the largest number of rural subscribers, according to data collated by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India.
Bharti Airtel added 0.82 million rural subscribers taking its total rural users to 84.64 million, while Vodafone India added 0.87 million taking its total to 84.29 million. In contrast, Aircel and Uninor lost users from the rural sector.
Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla group company, was in the third slot with a total of 67.85 million rural customers. The country’s total rural subscriber stood at 269.27 million as of May, with a net addition of 2.85 million and an increase of 1.07 per cent from the previous month.
Uttar Pradesh (East) recorded the maximum rural subscriber additions of 701,644, taking the total to 29.11 million, COAI said.